MEP for a PEB Warehouse: Fire, Electrical, Lighting and Ventilation Scope That Fits the Budget

A PEB warehouse needs five MEP systems sized to the storage, not to the floor area: fire protection set by commodity and stack height, LT distribution with dock power, high-bay lighting designed to the aisle, roof ventilation for heat under the metal sheeting, and drainage. When the budget is tight, build first what is costly to retrofit: fire water, incomer capacity and containment.

What does the fire scope depend on?

In a warehouse, the stock decides the fire design. IS 15105 (the BIS lists the 2021 revision as current) sorts stored goods into four commodity categories and ties the sprinkler design to storage height. Within stated heights a warehouse can be protected at ordinary-hazard density; above them it is designed as high-hazard storage, with a much heavier water demand.

Two budget consequences follow. First, a tank and pump house sized for a light storage assumption cannot be stretched later; if the tenant racks higher, the water system is the item that fails. Second, the commodity matters as much as the height: pallets, cartons and plastics burn, while steel parts in a wrapper still carry a fire load. Beyond the sprinklers, the yard needs hydrants and a ring main on the lines set out in IS 13039, and the whole scheme must match what the fire authority approves at NOC stage. Our warehouse MEPF page and the racking and fire compliance article go further, and the sprinkler calculator checks head counts.

What does the electrical scope include?

A single-span shed is one long room, so length is the design problem. One board at the end of the building leads to long cable runs and voltage drop; sub-distribution along the length keeps cable sizes sensible. Our delivered SBJ Nirmal warehouse in Ludhiana, a single-span pre-engineered shed with loading docks along one long face, had its electrical, ELV and fire fighting delivered as one package, and the lesson recorded on that project is that sub-distribution along the length keeps cable sizes sensible. Allow for:

• Incomer and transformer sized for the connected load of lighting, docks, charging, office air conditioning and a future solar plant. Check capacity with the factory electrical capacity calculator.
• Dock power for levellers, roller shutters and charging of material handling equipment, with charging areas ventilated and kept clear of stock.
• Containment laid for the whole length on day one, so a later rack line, scanner or camera is an addition to an existing route.
• Earthing and lightning protection for a large steel roof, with earth resistance recorded.
• DG set and changeover where outages would stop dispatch.

A large uninterrupted metal roof also suits rooftop solar once the structure is checked; see our commercial solar EPC page.

How should lighting and ventilation be planned?

Light the aisle, not the floor plate. A bay that looks bright when empty goes dark once racks block the throw, and a part number or label must be readable on the rack face. Lay high-bay fittings around the purlins and ridge rather than on a flat grid, add daylight sheets with controls if the energy case supports it, and check the result with the lighting lux calculator and the LED savings calculator.

Under a metal roof the heat is the problem. Natural ventilation uses ridge ventilators with low-level openings, supported by roof exhausters or large slow fans where the stock or the people need it. The airflow depends on volume, roof insulation and heat sources, so size it with the ventilation calculator and read our note on the warehouse ventilation system. Treat smoke ventilation as part of the fire strategy. Roof drainage needs gutters and downpipes sized for the roof area, and a yard drainage plan that keeps water off the dock approaches.

What should you build first, and who usually pays?

The last column is a market convention, not a rule; write the split into the lease and the handover specification, down to the storage class the fire system assumes. A warehouse handed over for light storage and then racked high is the standard dispute.

Sequence matters as much as scope. The tank, the underground mains and the containment routes go in before the floor slab and the dock aprons are finished, because digging them out of a finished floor costs more than the equipment. Ask the developer which storage class the approved fire drawing assumes, and ask the tenant for the real racking plan before the fire design is frozen. If the two differ, resolve it on paper before orders are placed, not at the NOC inspection. Approvals follow the same chain on every warehouse: the Fire NOC, the electrical inspection where an HT installation is involved, and the DISCOM sanction for the incomer.

How Secured Engineers helps

We design and deliver turnkey MEPF for warehouses, with fire, electrical, HVAC and plumbing under one contract and the Fire NOC and other approvals filed in-house. Our project record includes a distribution warehouse MEPF package executed in a 37-day programme and the SBJ Nirmal warehouse in Ludhiana. We work from offices in Noida (Delhi NCR) and Ludhiana, with 535+ projects across 18+ states and 89.77% repeat clients. Our MEPF page describes the service, and the MEPF cost calculator gives a first range.

If you have a drawing or a BOQ for your shed, send it and we will review the fire, electrical and ventilation scope against the storage plan and mark what is missing. Reach us on WhatsApp, call +91 70099 85817, or ask for a free proposal.